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Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 22:2 (2023) ► pp.185–203

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Interpersonal-function topoi in Chinese central government’s work report (2020) as epidemic (counter-)crisis discourse

ORCiD logo with link | Central China Normal University
 | Jiangxi Tourism and Commerce Vocational College
Published online: 8 November 2022
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.22022.wan
Abstract
Using Systemic Functional Grammar and conceptual framework in the argumentation-oriented approach to discourse, this study analyzes Chinese central government’s “ Report on the Work of the Government” in 2020 (henceforth the Report) to explore the “interpersonal-function topoi” in the political discourse. The Report was delivered and issued against the backdrop of the surging covid-19 epidemic. This study first calculated the frequency of mood, modality and persons in the Report. The statistics were qualitatively analyzed in relation to various topoi-imagery of the crisis vis-à-vis representing the agency-reflected in the interpersonal metafunction of the language in the Report. These topoi play a vital role in winning popular support for the Chinese central government’s anti-epidemic measures and mobilizing the widest public into actions against the covid-19 pandemic. The analysis demonstrates how the analysis of interpersonal metafunction from an argumentation-oriented perspective can shed light on dealing with crisis discourse, especially in the pandemic settings.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework and methodology
  • 3.Analysis of interpersonal meaning in the report
    • 3.1Mood system in the report
    • 3.2Modality system in the report
    • 3.3Person system in the report
  • 4.Interpersonal-function topoi
    • 4.1Topoi in imagery of the crisis
      • 4.1.1The past (weakness)-to-future (strengthening-action) topos
      • 4.1.2Real-and-projected topos
    • 4.2Topoi in representing agency
      • 4.2.1Representing the subjects
      • 4.2.2Modalizing the agency
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Note
  • References
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